Objective Adolescent migrants present psychological disorders more frequently than the corresponding host population but their access to care and to follow-up are less effective. The French method of transcultural psychotherapy (TPT) was conceived to respond to these problems. Our objective is to assess how these adolescents and their families perceive the experience and effectiveness of TPT. Method We conducted semistructured interviews with the families of adolescents seen for TPT. The data were analyzed by a qualitative thematic methodology. Results We spoke to 21 participants in 8 families. The families came to TPT with a sense that the teen's current treatment was at an impasse. During the follow-up, they noted that family communication and relationships had improved, as had their connection to their culture of origin. Besides commenting on what they perceived as limitations, families identified specific elements of TPT as therapeutic. Conclusion The pronounced diversity of the group and the use of both multiperspective narration and an interpreter were specific elements driving the construction of a good therapeutic alliance, despite the initial barriers. Pursuit of the evaluation of TPT is essential to advance the psychiatric care of adolescent migrants.
Background Migrant adolescents are at a higher risk than their native-born counterparts of psychiatric disorders, and their care is a public health issue. In France, transcultural psychotherapy is a treatment provided by a group of therapists designed to meet the specific needs of these patients when usual care appears ineffective. The objective of this study was to explore the therapeutic elements at work in transcultural psychotherapy. Methods We conducted a qualitative study crossing the perspectives of adolescents receiving transcultural psychotherapy, their parents, their first-line therapist (FLT), and the transcultural therapists. The families were chosen by purposive sampling. Data were collected during semi-structured individual (for FLTs) and group (families and transcultural therapists) interviews that explored the therapeutic elements involved and effective in transcultural psychotherapy. We used interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to examine the data. In all, 44 participants were questioned: three adolescents (2 girls and 1 boy, all aged 18 to 21 years) and their parents (3 mothers and 1 father), three FLTs (2 child psychiatrists and 1 psychologist), and the 34 therapists participating in the three transcultural psychotherapy groups. Results The analysis uncovered three themes: (1) the perceived effectiveness of the group’s functioning; (2) the recounting of the individual, family, and cultural history to allow for complexity and nuance; and (3) the personal investment by therapists, made possible by the group. Conclusions Our results show some therapeutic elements at work in transcultural psychotherapy that enable it to meet the particular needs of some migrant adolescents that are unmet in standard therapy. Continuing to study transcultural psychotherapy and assess its effectiveness is essential for promoting and optimizing psychiatric care for migrant adolescents.
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